The High Court (HC) has stayed the appointment of the wife of a local lawmaker as the president of the governing body of a women’s degree college in Savar, eight months before the expiry of the existing committee’s tenure.
The HC bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice Fatema Anwar issued the order on Monday after the preliminary hearing of a writ petition filed challenging the appointment.
Advocate Nur Ul Matin appeared for the petitioner.
According to the petition, Jahangirnagar University Senate member and Supreme Court lawyer Shihab Uddin Khan was appointed president of the governing body of Mofazzal-Momena Chakladar Mohila College for a two-year term on 24 April, 2025.
The tenure of the committee was scheduled to end on 24 April, 2027.
However, the National University’s college inspector issued an order on 23 July replacing the president before the completion of the committee’s term.
The order appointed Sabina Siddika, wife of Dhaka-19 constituency lawmaker Dewan Mohammad Salahuddin Babu, as the new president of the college governing body.
Following the appointment, Shihab Uddin Khan sent a legal notice to the vice-chancellor, registrar and college inspector of the National University, demanding withdrawal of the order within 48 hours.
As no response was received, he moved the High Court with a writ petition.
After hearing the petition, the court stayed the appointment of Sabina Siddika for three months.
The respondents in the writ petition are the secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, the secretary of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the vice-chancellor of the National University, the college inspector of the National University and the principal of Mofazzal-Momena Chakladar Women’s Degree College.
